Re: Drag that shutter

You know what I mean! Having a longer shutter than required for a normal and acceptibly sharp exposure.

Optionally you can use a flash, either front curtain or more generally rear curtain, to freeze the motion as well.

"Dragging the shutter is a basic photographic technique that is often put to highly creative use by the best wedding photojournalists. Whether depicting the bride mid-whir during a dance, or documenting a child bounding down the aisle at the church, dragging the shutter helps produce images that contain a sense of motion and bring an added dose of festivity to what, for some, already feels like a whirlwind day.
When photographers “drag” the shutter by slowing down its speed, they effectively lengthen the exposure in order to create a motion effect. Optionally, a burst of flash can then freeze the primary subject in the foreground."

And on a separate note, Neil van Niekerk is a great person to learn from - both on his blog and youtube vids...

Re: Drag that shutter

Hi again,

Originally Posted by dubaiphil

"Dragging the shutter is a basic photographic technique that is often put to highly creative use by the best wedding photojournalists. Whether depicting the bride mid-whir during a dance, or documenting a child bounding down the aisle at the church, dragging the shutter helps produce images that contain a sense of motion and bring an added dose of festivity to what, for some, already feels like a whirlwind day.
When photographers “drag” the shutter by slowing down its speed, they effectively lengthen the exposure in order to create a motion effect. Optionally, a burst of flash can then freeze the primary subject in the foreground."

Not what I understand from NVR's tutorial on the technique!

From what I can understand from NVR it is anything but a “basic technique” and it is not mostly used by wedding photographers to “create a feeling of motion”.

We all know there are different techniques to create the feeling of motion – slow shutter speed, zooming, panning – all used to create motion.

“Drag the shutter” does not mean “slowing down the shutter” to create a feeling of motion.
From what I understand “dragging the shutter” is a very complicated technique needing a lot of practice to master.
A shutter can be “dragged” from anything from 30sec to 1/250sec on my D200. It all depends on the maximum sync speed of the shutter with flash. It is a technique only used in flash photography.
Many a portrait photographer will also use the technique. Even wildlife photographers might use the technique effectively. Commercial photographers will use it extensively.
Dragging the shutter is a technique of “synchronising” ambient light with flash to get the desired effect and exposure. The aim of dragging the shutter is to have your main subject exposed by flash and the rest of the scene “correctly” exposed by ambient light. (With or without blur or any movement.)

Understanding flash photography is essential in understanding “dragging the shutter”.

Neil Van Niekerk explains the technique better than I will ever be able to explain it. It is best to study his tutorial on “dragging the shutter” to really understand how and when to use the technique.

Thanks for this thread as it has made me return to NVR’s tutorial to really understand and use the technique.

I hope my understanding of the technique is not a misconception. If it is I have learned something new that will help me a lot with better understanding how to effectively use flash.

Re: Drag that shutter

Re: Drag that shutter

Really nice, Phil. I was wondering if you had to communicate with emphasis that the shopkeep needed to hold really still for that shutter speed. I note the difference between your primary subject who is perfectly sharp and the sitting figure, obviously not walking but obviously not holding as still as his partner.